Magic coming alive – Session 1
What an awesome day at camp! It was a full, camp-style camp day. Technically, it was our first full day of regularly scheduled programming because we did an abbreviated version on Friday to prepare for Shabbat, and that was only the kids’ second day. Today felt much more like the daily rhythm the kids will know five days a week.
Of course, there are some special events planned, which I can’t go into here because we don’t want to spoil any surprises. But man oh man, I get a tremendous amount of joy from the sounds that emanate from this place…kids laughing, joyfully yelling, making new friends. I can actually recall one kid who looked particularly nervous on day one in the Ulam during the welcome, and today that kid was walking down the Poad (which is, by the way, the road, but it’s not really a road, it’s more of a path, but bigger than a path, so we just call it the Poad). Anyway, I saw that kid walking down with three buddies as if they’d known each other their whole lives.
That’s the true beauty and magic of summer camp — not just Jewish summer camp, but summer camp at large. Kids trying things. Kids putting themselves out there without their parents coaxing them. They do it because they’re part of the herd, and it’s so impressive to watch them grow.
A kid who came in on the bus and saw the high ropes course and thought to themselves, “Oh my gosh, that must be for the older kids,” or “the taller kids,” or whatever it might be, a kid who could never have pictured themselves up there…today that same kid was walking across the ropes course strapped in with a helmet on, 25 feet in the air, before taking a zip line all the way down. The smile that comes across that kid’s face, the joy, the accomplishment, they’ll remember that forever.
That’s what we get to see every day. We get to capture your kid doing things they never thought they could do and seeing things in themselves they never knew they had. Confidence! It’s crazy how it grows. Sometimes all it takes is letting go a little bit, and by sending your kid to camp, I’m of the opinion that you’ve given your kid one of the greatest gifts. Again, of course I could go down the road of Jewish summer camp, but I’m talking about the independence and confidence that comes from this experience. It’s beautiful.
Enzo and I (that’s my dog) did our morning stroll around the Poad to check out Chug Aleph, which is the first of the three Chugim (activities) we run throughout the day. I saw those kids up on the high ropes course. I saw a group of kids playing soccer in the field. I assume that was the World League Chug, which is our sports chug and is very competitive (my love language). We divide the kids into teams and they spend the week competing against one another, and of course, a winner prevails. Those winners get T-shirts, and those T-shirts are very coveted.
I saw a group of kids in a chug called Tayelet Games. The Tayelet is the place just above our waterfront where we have a nine-square game, volleyball courts, a jungle gym of some kind, built-in ping-pong tables, etc. We have an activity centered around making sure we use all of this awesome Tayelet… just like they would in Tel Aviv. You’re going to have to Google the Tayelet in Tel Aviv because it’s one of my favorite places on earth.
Our second-to-last stop on the morning stroll was Amanut, which is arts and crafts, where we saw kids painting the signs with their names that will go above their cubbies and hold the projects they’ll work on until it’s time to go home. Some of those projects will actually make it there! The others that are left behind will probably be here for years to come. I still see random projects floating around from years past, and I look at them as symbols of someone else’s joy and someone else embracing the magic of this awesome place. But most of them do go home because those kids are so proud to show you what they’ve done.
Toward the end of my walk, I went by one of the fire pits and there was a group of about five kids and a staff member reading books in the Book Club Chug. Yes, there really truly genuinely is something for everyone at camp.
And to top the night off, during Chofesh (free time), Yoetz Josh and I got destroyed by two Ha’atid campers (our youngest campers) in a game of two-on-two basketball. We lost 10–8, but I was a good sport. However, I’m thankful that Yoetz Josh (a Yoetz is one of the adults we have around camp as part of our camper care team) is a licensed therapist, so he did give me some emotional support, and we are working on my competitive nature.
With that…
Thank you for sending your kid to Herzl Camp
All is well, safely rest.
לילה טוב
Tommy